2023 Best Value Culinary Arts Associate Degree Schools in the Southwest Region
Highlighting Quality Schools With More Affordable Pricing
Finding the Best Culinary Arts Associate Degree School for You
Culinary Arts is the #100 most popular major in the country with 19,806 degrees and certificates awarded in 2020-2021.
It's not easy to decide which program to enroll in when you have so many options available. You're no longer limited to schools in your local area, either, since online programs are becoming more prevalent. Or you may find the programs at a trade school to be a better alternative for you.
To help you arm yourself with the information you need to make your decision, Course Advisor has developed this Best Value Culinary Arts Associate Degree Schools in the Southwest Region ranking. This report analyzed 22 schools in the Southwest Region to see which ones offered the best value associate degree programs for culinary arts students. The goal was to highlight schools with more affordable prices than others offering similar quality experiences.
Our ranking of value is based on the quality of a program as defined in our per sticker price dollar. Specifically, our score for quality is discounted by the published tuition and fees charged by the given college. This gives the cost per unit of quality for each college. The more quality your dollar buys, the better the value.
In our regional and nationwide rankings, out-of-state tution and fees are used in our calculations. For statewide rankings, we use average in-state tuition and fees.
Top 10 Best Culinary Arts Associate Degree Schools
Our 2023 rankings named Lee College the best value school in the Southwest Region for culinary arts students working on their associate degree. Located in the small city of Baytown, Lee College is a public college with a moderately-sized student population.
Out-of-state tuition fees for undergraduate students at Lee College are $4,302 per year.
In addition to its great value ranking, Lee College is in the top 10% of all schools on our Best Culinary Arts Associate Degree Schools in the Southwest Region list.
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You’ll join some of the best and brightest minds around you if you attend El Centro College. The school came in at #2 on this year’s Best Value Culinary Arts Associate Degree Schools in the Southwest Region list. Located in the large city of Dallas, El Centro College is a public college with a fairly large student population.
The average tuition and fees for an out-of-state undergraduate student at El Centro College are $6,000 a year. The average amount in student loans that culinary arts majors at El Centro College take out while working on their Associate Degree is $22,807.
El Centro College also made our Best Culinary Arts Associate Degree Schools in the Southwest Region list, coming in at #3.
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You’ll join some of the best and brightest minds around you if you attend South Plains College. The school came in at #3 on this year’s Best Value Culinary Arts Associate Degree Schools in the Southwest Region list. Located in the distant town of Levelland, South Plains College is a public college with a medium-sized student population.
Out-of-state tuition fees for undergraduate students at South Plains College are $4,276 per year.
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A rank of #4 on this year’s list means Grayson College is a great value for culinary arts students working on their associate degree. Located in the rural area of Denison, Grayson College is a public school with a small student population.
The average tuition and fees for an out-of-state undergraduate student at Grayson College are $5,482 a year.
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You’ll be in good company if you decide to attend San Jacinto Community College. It ranked #5 on our 2023 Best Value Culinary Arts Associate Degree Schools in the Southwest Region list. Located in the suburb of Pasadena, San Jacinto College is a public college with a fairly large student population.
The average tuition and fees for an out-of-state undergraduate student at San Jacinto College are $5,040 a year.
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Del Mar College ranked #6 on this year’s Best Value Culinary Arts Associate Degree Schools in the Southwest Region list. DMC is a fairly large public school located in the large city of Corpus Christi.
Out-of-state tuition fees for undergraduate students at DMC are $5,930 per year.
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Houston Community College ranked #7 on this year’s Best Value Culinary Arts Associate Degree Schools in the Southwest Region list. Houston Community College is a very large public school located in the large city of Houston.
The average tuition and fees for an out-of-state undergraduate student at Houston Community College are $5,460 a year. On average, culinary arts graduates from Houston Community College take out $27,562 in student loans while working on their Associate Degree.
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With a ranking of #8, Kilgore College did quite well on this year’s best value schools for culinary arts students working on their associate degree. Kilgore College is a medium-sized public school located in the fringe town of Kilgore.
The average tuition and fees for an out-of-state undergraduate student at Kilgore College are $5,256 a year.
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Austin Community College District ranked #9 on this year’s Best Value Culinary Arts Associate Degree Schools in the Southwest Region list. Located in the city of Austin, Austin Community College District is a public college with a very large student population.
The average tuition and fees for an out-of-state undergraduate student at Austin Community College District are $10,590 a year. After completing their Associate Degree, culinary arts graduates from Austin Community College District carry an average student debtload of $12,254.
In addition to its great value ranking, Austin Community College District is in the top 10% of all schools on our Best Culinary Arts Associate Degree Schools in the Southwest Region list.
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Oklahoma State University Institute of Technology ranked #10 on this year’s Best Value Culinary Arts Associate Degree Schools in the Southwest Region list. OSU Institute of Technology is a small public school located in the town of Okmulgee.
Out-of-state tuition fees for undergraduate students at OSU Institute of Technology are $11,384 per year. While working on their Associate Degree, culinary arts majors at OSU Institute of Technology accumulate an average of around $18,432 in student debt.
Read full report on Culinary Arts at Oklahoma State University Institute of Technology
Request InformationBest Culinary Arts Colleges by State
Explore the best culinary arts colleges for a specific state in the Southwest region.
| State | Degrees Awarded |
|---|---|
| Texas | 701 |
| Arizona | 87 |
| Oklahoma | 26 |
| New Mexico | 42 |
More Culinary Arts Rankings in the Southwest Region
Culinary Arts Related Majors for Culinary Arts
One of 4 majors within the area of study, culinary arts has other similar majors worth exploring.
Most Popular Related Majors
| Related Major | Annual Graduates |
|---|---|
| Cosmetology | 107,895 |
| Funeral & Mortuary Science | 2,354 |
| Casino Operations and Services | 192 |
| Other Personal & Culinary Services | 81 |
Notes and References
*These averages are for the top 22 schools only.
- The Integrated Postsecondary Education Data System (IPEDS) from the National Center for Education Statistics (NCES), a branch of the U.S. Department of Education (DOE) serves as the core of the rest of our data about colleges.
- Some other college data, including much of the graduate earnings data, comes from the U.S. Department of Education’s (College Scorecard).
- Credit for the banner image above goes to U.S. Army Europe Images.
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More about our data sources and methodologies.
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